Period: 7th–8th century
Materials: Sandstone
Dimensions: 40 cm
Description
The sandstone head represents Hari Hara, the deity combining Vishnu and Shiva. Made in Cambodia in the seventh–eighth century, it illustrates the spread of Hindu iconography into Southeast Asia and its adaptation in pre-Khmer sculpture.
The headdress distinguishes the two components: Vishnu’s cylindrical crown and Shiva’s ascetic topknot. The vertical division is integrated into the unified modelling of the face, with its frontal arrangement and hieratic expression.
The image of Hari Hara, developed in India during the Gupta period, brings together two central aspects of Hindu tradition: Vishnu, associated with preservation, and Shiva, with creation and destruction. In the Cambodian head, the treatment of the two halves of the headdress makes this union recognisable without dividing the facial expression. The Indian theme takes a local form, combining distinct attributes with compact modelling and a frontal stance.
The compact features and tall headdress preserve the figure’s presence even in the sculpture’s fragmentary state. Attention centres on the face and headdress, whose attributes retain the subject’s recognisable identity.
